KonohagakureNoSato :
Konoha Academy :
Naruto adjusted his grip, ensuring Hinata was nestled securely against his chest. Usually, he'd be leaping over rooftops to save time, but his MindHub quickly calculated the risks of a bumpy ride.
"Right," Naruto whispered to himself, his protective instincts overriding his excitement. "Slow and steady wins the... well, wins the date."
Naruto bypassed the rooftops and stuck to the shaded Academy grounds and the quieter back-corridors. He moved with a rhythmic, gliding stride—a technique he'd refined during his Leaf Taijutsu footwork drills.
To anyone watching, it looked like he was skating on air. He kept his upper body perfectly still so that Hinata wouldn't feel even a slight jolt.
As Naruto walked, he couldn't help but look down at her. Her head was resting right near his collarbone, and her breathing, though shallow and fast, was starting to steady.
(She's so light,) Naruto thought, feeling a sudden surge of warmth that had nothing to do with his Rejuvenation buff.
(And she went through all that trouble just to get me medicine... she's really something else.)
Naruto moved past the training dummies and the obstacle courses, heading toward the dense forest patch that led to his private clearing. Every time a stray branch or a root appeared in his path, his Dynamic Vision mapped it out seconds in advance, allowing him to step over it with seamless grace.
Naruto was treating this trek like an S-rank stealth mission, where the "enemy" was anything that might wake her up before they reached the destination.
Naruto felt a bit of a thrill. This was the first time he was using his hard-earned ninja skills—his balance, his chakra control, his sensory awareness—not to fight a Jōnin or a rock, but to make sure a girl was comfortable.
He finally reached the edge of the woods, the sunlight filtering through the leaves in soft, golden shafts. He could hear the distant babble of the stream near his training ground.
"Almost--
However, the shift in movement and the fresh air began to pull Hinata back from the abyss of her first faint.
In the cradle of Naruto's arms, Hinata's eyelids fluttered. The first thing she felt was a rhythmic thumping—Naruto's heartbeat, steady and strong, vibrating against her back. Then, she felt the warmth of his chest and the firm, secure grip of his arms around her knees and shoulders.
She slowly opened her eyes, and the world came into focus in the most terrifyingly perfect way possible.
There was Naruto-kun. His jawline was set in a determined expression, his golden hair ruffled by the wind, and his face was so close she could see the tiny flecks of blue in his eyes. He was carrying her. Really carrying her. Like a princess in those stories she read when she thought no one was looking.
Hinata's internal monologue went into a complete tailspin:
(I'm... I'm in his arms. Naruto-kun's arms. He's so warm. He's so strong. He's carrying me! Why is he carrying me? Did I die? Is this heaven? Wait, if I'm in heaven, does that mean Naruto-kun died too?! No, wait, he's breathing! He smells like pine and... is that ointment? Oh no, the ointment! I gave him the ointment! He asked how I knew about the bruises! He knows I looked! He knows everything!)
As the realization of her "Peeping Tom" status crashed into the reality of being princess-carried, Hinata's brain reached its absolute thermal limit.
"N-N-N-Naruto... k-kun..." she squeaked out, her voice barely a whisper.
Naruto looked down, his eyes lighting up. "Oh! Hinata, you're awake! I was just taking us to—"
He didn't get to finish. Naruto watched in real-time as Hinata's face transitioned from a soft pink to a deep, glowing crimson, and then finally to a vivid, pulsing purple.
PHOOOOT!
A fresh, even larger plume of steam whistled out from her ears, nearly obscuring Naruto's vision. Her head lolled back, her eyes turned into white spirals once more, and her entire body went limp.
"EHHH?! AGAIN?!" Naruto nearly tripped
"Hinata! Hang in there! We haven't even reached the training ground yet!"
He sighed, a lopsided grin returning to his face as he looked at her peaceful, albeit very red, face. "Well, I guess it gives me more time to find a nice place for her to sit."
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Naruto arrived at his secluded training ground, the soft rustle of leaves the only sound in the air. He looked at the mossy area beneath a sprawling oak tree and decided it was time to put his elemental training to work.
Still holding Hinata carefully with his arms , Naruto tapped his feet against the ground while making a single Hand-seal
"Earth Style: Stone Bench," Naruto whispered.
This was not some Ninjutsu but pure Earth Chakra Manipulation , The Jutsu was actually Twin Wall Jutsu that Naruto invented before , Months of training together with Great Sage Skill , have achievd much more in these months.
With the precision of a master sculptor , the ground groaned softly as the earth shifted. A smooth, polished stone bench rose from the dirt, complete with a comfortable backrest and armrests.
Naruto even used a bit of friction to warm the stone so it wouldn't be cold against her skin. He laid her down gently, leaning her back against the rest so she stayed in an upright, seated position.
Then, Naruto sat on the grass beside her, activating MindHub and his Acting Skill. He needed to be perfectly composed—gentle, charismatic, and entirely non-threatening.
A few minutes later, Hinata's eyelids fluttered. The cool shade and the sound of the nearby stream acted as a natural balm. As her vision cleared, she saw Naruto sitting right there, looking at her in surprise and confusion .
Before she could explode into steam again, Naruto spoke up, his voice calm and melodic, instantly taking control of the narrative.
Naruto said, holding up the small tin of ointment,
" Thank you Hinata . My ribs were killing me because of the training , but this ointment ... it helped a lot , It means a lot to me that you noticed I was struggling and went out of your way to help me."
The strategy worked. By focusing entirely on his gratitude and the utility of the medicine, he gave her a safe "anchor" for her thoughts. The "how did you know" question was buried under a mountain of sincere appreciation.
Hinata's face was still pink, but she didn't faint. She looked at him, mesmerized by the way Naruto was looking at her—not as a "failure," but as a savior.
"I... I'm glad... it helps," she managed to whisper, her fingers starting their rhythmic twiddle.
Naruto stood up, dusting off his pants. The sunlight filtered through the leaves, catching his golden hair. He didn't look like a loud-mouthed prankster; he looked like a young man with the weight of destiny on his shoulders.
"I realized we've been in the same class for years, but I've never properly introduced myself to you, Hinata"
Naruto said with a touch of wit while keeping the Acting skill active .
"I'm Uzumaki Naruto. I like instant ramen, but I like training to get stronger even more. And my dream..."
Naruto turned to look at the Hokage Rock visible through the trees, his expression shifting into one of pure, unshakeable conviction. This wasn't acting; this was the core of his soul.
"I'm going to become the Hokage. But it's not just about the hat or the power. For a long time, I felt like I was invisible, or worse, like I was someone everyone wanted to forget. So my dream is to become a man so great that the entire village—no, the entire world—is forced to acknowledge my existence. I want to earn that respect through my actions."
Naruto takes a breath and continues
"I know it won't be easy. People will doubt me, and the world might try to break me. But I have a rule I live by. I never go back on my word, and I never, ever give up. That is my nindo—my ninja way!"
( Ughh I feel embarrassed ) Naruto internally thought
Hinata watched him, her breath catching in her throat. This was the Naruto she had watched from the shadows for years—the boy who never quit, the boy who stood up even when the world tried to push him down.
But now, his words had a gravity that shook her to her core. He wasn't just talking about himself; he was talking about the very thing she struggled with—the desperate desire to be seen and respected by her father and her clan.
"I... I've always..." Hinata whispered, her voice gaining a rare, fragile spark of courage as she looked at him. "I've always believed you, Naruto-kun. Since the very beginning. Even when no one else was looking... I was "
Naruto's eyes widened slightly. His MindHub processed the sincerity in her voice, and for a moment, the "acting" fell away, replaced by a genuine, heartfelt smile that reached his eyes.
"I... I didn't know," Naruto began, his voice dropping to a soft, vulnerable level. "I didn't know that someone even believed in me back then. I thought I was all alone "
Naruto stepped closer, looking at her with a depth of warmth that made the air feel still.
"Thank you, Hinata. Truly. ... it means more than I can say. It makes me feel like I've already achieved a part of my dream."
Hinata's face glowed, not with the steam of embarrassment this time, but with a quiet, radiant happiness. For the first time in her life, she felt truly seen.
The comfortable silence stretched between them, the only sound the gentle rustling of leaves overhead. But while the emotional air had cleared, the physical reality of Naruto's condition still lingered in Hinata's mind.
Hinata looked down at the ointment tin in Naruto's hand, then her eyes drifted up to his jacket. She knew what lay beneath it. The image of the purple bruises and angry welts she had seen with her Byakugan was burned into her memory.
"N-Naruto-kun?"
Hinata spoke softly, her voice trembling just a little, but her concern was stronger than her fear.
"Those... those bruises I saw..." She caught herself, realizing she was admitting to peeping again, and quickly corrected course. "I mean... you said you were pushing yourself and Trai- training But Who... who would do that to you? It looked... really painful."
Naruto leaned back against the rough bark of the oak tree, letting out a long breath. He looked at the sky through the canopy, his expression turning wistful.
"Ah, these?" Naruto smiled and acted like a teenager that want to prove his crush that this thing was nothing and spoke . "ahh it's just training and It's my new sensei. His name is Hattori. He's a Jōnin, and let's just say... his teaching methods are a little 'old school'."
Naruto turned to look at her, his blue eyes serious. " Sensei told me that relying on my eyes makes me weak. He said that in a real fight, enemies won't always let you see them. So, for the last few days... he blindfolded me."
"Blindfolded?" Hinata gasped, her hands instinctively clutching her knees.
"Yeah. He tied a cloth over my eyes and told me to stand in the middle of the training ground. Then..." Naruto grimaced, remembering the stinging pain. "Then he spent hours throwing stones at me. Fast ones. From every direction."
Hinata's eyes widened in horror. "But... how could you dodge? That's impossible!"
"That's what I thought, too,"
Naruto admitted with a lopsided grin.
"I got hit. A lot. That's where the bruises came from. But the Old Man—Hattori—he was trying to teach me something called 'Chakra Field.' He made me force chakra out of all my pressure points at once to create a sort of... web around my body."
Naruto held up his hand, wiggling his fingers as if feeling the air.
"If a stone enters the web, I'm supposed to 'feel' it before it hits me. It hurts like crazy, and it's exhausting."
Naruto leaned back against the cool bark of the oak tree, the stone bench he had crafted providing a steady seat for Hinata. He didn't just mention the stones; he spoke about the grueling weeks leading up to this moment.
"It started with simple Taijutsu and endurance," Naruto explained, his voice taking on a reflective tone.
"Hattori-sensei had me running until my lungs felt like they were on fire, then made me practice chakra control while my hands were shaking from exhaustion. He told me that a ninja who only performs well when they're rested is just a hobbyist. To survive, I had to learn to be dangerous even when I was at my worst."
Naruto looked at his hands, a faint glow of chakra flickering for a second.
"The blindfold training was the hardest. He wanted me to stop thinking with my brain and start 'feeling' with my spirit. ..... I spent years being the class clown, but now, every second of my day is about catching up to the Dream I want to be."
Hinata listened, her lavender eyes wide. As Naruto talked about the cold nights and the relentless drills, the golden sun began to dip below the horizon, painting the sky in deep shades of violet and bruised orange.
"It's getting late," Naruto said, standing up "I don't want your father getting worried. Let me escort you back to the Hyūga estate."
Hinata looked back , her heart fluttering. "Thank you, Naruto-kun."